Gaming Addiction

[Tilda]

http://jivemagazine.com/content_articles.php?ID=104

was posted on Alb Excal board but i thought all people might want to see it.

makes me want to cry, but its well worth readying right down to the bottom.

Tilda

 

[Euthanasia.]

took me along time to read; i'm v.tired.
worth a read tho.

 

[old.neenee]

read it quite awhile ago, same situation as me that dude was in, never going out, no social contact with anyone (this is since daoc , so like a year) but thankfuly daoc got abit boring and i got out of the drovel of staying in all the time how sad

 

[Euthanasia.]

tupp?!!!
original tupp!?

 

[old.neenee]

yoo newb najwa ><

 

[Pouget]

Hmm... been playing daoc for 10 months now. Still going out as much as I used to and speding time with my gf. I think the only thing it has taken time away from is watching tv, which can't be only a bad thing .

I'm not a powerleveler either, my main still isn't 50 . Have lots of alts, though...

 

[old.job]

True, a lot of it, likewise it's TV that's taking the hit, unfortunately that's another thing to slightly remove me from friends.

"Did you see that program about Malayasian donkeys?"
"Er, no was playing DAOC"
"Did you see the new chick in Aussie soap No5?"
"Hmmmm"

New Years resolution, 5 bubs a night max, that's it no more, no matter how good the spec.

Must try to ease myself back into the real world.

2 weeks ago I was meeting a girl in the town centre and I Left going out till the last minute, so Icould level at a good spot.
One of our guildys did 20 hrs at the Fins, non-stop over XMAS.

It is getting just a LITTLE out of hand.

 

[Solid]

Super read and a good article to make ya sit up and think.

I would tend to agree about most of it, tho its less about the game itself for me atm and more the people.

Couldnt give a toss bout my level or what game it is long as the people I have come to know are playing it and i get to have them crazy whacko chats.

Hell sometimes I consider myself "Playing DAoC" when I in reality just sit on irc and MSN chatting for a few hours whilst browsing the forums

Keyword? PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE

 

[Tilda]

so do you think that that makes you more socialble that befor you played DAoC where
perhaps you didnt read forums/talk on irc organise raids etc.?

Does talking on irc or forums could as socialising?

 

[old.0xygen]

I've been an online addict for about 4 years now and I'm starting to think that my addiction maybe ending, I ain't played UO or DAOC for any serious length of time for a few months now.

But anytime I hear of a new patch I'm playing again.

Its got me I guess, and this year I do my GCSE's. Studying vs the computer is a no contest but I know I REALLY know that I gotta snap out of it. I don't wanna fuck up just cause I needed to get a few levels in.

 

[old.chesnor]

Originally posted by Solid
Super read and a good article to make ya sit up and think.

I would tend to agree about most of it, tho its less about the game itself for me atm and more the people.

Couldnt give a toss bout my level or what game it is long as the people I have come to know are playing it and i get to have them crazy whacko chats.

Hell sometimes I consider myself "Playing DAoC" when I in reality just sit on irc and MSN chatting for a few hours whilst browsing the forums

Keyword? PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE

This isn't a criticism of you personally Solid, just this attitude in general, because I have heard it lots.

Basically, what you said boils down to this: I play daoc lots because I enjoy the social aspect.

But surely spending time in your bedroom (or wherever your PC is ) is by definition anti-social. You have no 'real' interaction with other people, and much of the 'social' aspect of daoc takes place away from the game anyway (these forums, irc).

Basically, most people who play this game play it too much. DAOC is a great game, and MMORPGs with subscription models are designed to make people play too much. Thats one of the things that its designers have done superbly well. But if you kid yourself you play BECAUSE of the socialising, then why don't you all retire to quakenet and make a chatroom, its free If its all about PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE, you can meet far more interesting people in the 1000s of chatrooms out there, and you don't need to pay GOA a bean

I have more or less given up on daoc now, for in my opinion, the more you play, the smaller your world gets.....

 

[old.Trine Aquavit]

It's not just about chatting, the game provides a focus for socialising just as it would for a sports team, a bridge group or a drama group. People don't chat about RL much in DAOC, they chat about the game, they enjoy working together as a team to achieve something, they enjoy being part of a community of like-minded souls. The word 'social' doesn't just mean chat, it's broader than that. I agree with Solid that it's about PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE. Playing MMORPGs is a social activity and there's nothing wrong with it from the point of view.

The problem with MMORPG addiction is availability - the fun sociability and gamesplaying we all enjoy is always there and hard to resist. Like most things in life (food, drugs, drink, work) too much of one thing is problematic and, ultimately, unhealthy. It's just a bit too easy to keep getting a fix of an MMORPG - that's the danger.

Keep the balance, and it's not a problem.

 

[Solid]

Wot trina said

I am stating how I feel NOW. There was a time when I played for the game, but the game is not really that damn good anymore and the holding factor for me is the people. Take the people away and u got at best a mediocre game with flaws like the rest. I would stop playing if my guild all decided to disappear or stop playing themselves as contrary to what u think Chesnor the people are the most important aspect of online games. its a god damn MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER online game. To say u play the game for the game is a joke. I dont play ANY other PC games atm fyi, I dont have a new age console and my Playstation is gathering dust somewhere. So considering DAoC is the ONLY game I play does that mean I am addicted to gaming? or DAoC itself? or that the major factor keeping me playing is the Multiplayer (read PEOPLE) aspect of the game?

Chesnor imo ur a tad quick to judge and read more into what people say/write.

Oh and as an aside, my PC is in the downstairs room between the kitchen and the Living room (alongside the family PC)

if its one thing I hate its assumption and u made a lot of em

 

[BubbleCDR]

I known a guy called Iggy. VERRYYYY LOONNNGGG TIMEEEE AGGGOOO tho... think he was a Hero level 15 or so

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

There was a char called Iggy on Mid/Pryd a while back. Myself, him and Scamper considered ourselves the usual suspects and grouped a lot (you want to talk about oddball groups...). Been a long while though and kinda miss those hunts together.

Not sure what Iggy has to do with this thread though, if it's the same person

 

[Talwin-Hawkins]

Iggy is one of the guys friends from the link


i think gaming addiction is a real problem for some people, i play alot, have played online now for 2 to 3 years and i hope and i think i have got a good balance with my G/f we are still together and i still have the same job!

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

lol ok, that's what I get for speed reading something... but I don't think its the same Iggy in link. The Iggy on Mid/Pryd gave up playing because job was at odd hours and hard to be online with friends. Iggy is not uncommon nickname in UK and US.

I was just intrigued when saw possible ref to person I used to group with in early days of playing.

 

[old.chesnor]

Trine: Comparing addiction to drink/drugs and addiction to MMORPG is naive. Alcholoism/drug addiction are well studied and understood phenoma and affects people from all backgrounds/races/religions/age groups. Addiction to MMORPG is misunderstood, even by the very people who are most affected (young people mostly). There is no treatment, no acceptance, but we all know it exists. The only comparison worth noting is that drink, drugs and MMORPG are all designed with addiction in mind. But drink and drugs are controlled by law to make sure the vulnerable cannot be destroyed by them. Daoc costs £6 a month, and is ultimately playable by anyone with access to someone with a means to pay electronically. That means teenagers can lock themselves away for days on end and feed that addiction. Show me an alcoholic or drug addict with such easy access and such a cheap cost. So Trine, you say practise tolerance, and all will be well. But, tf the price of crack cocaine was reduced to £0.05 per rock, would that be sensible advice? Or the price of a bottle of whiskey dropped to £0.20, would we not see an obvious rise in pissheads?

Solid: You are in denial. Ask your guild to donate the monthly subs to charity and start a room on quakenet. There you can socialise for free, with the warm feeling that you are not only socialising with your mates, but you have broken your addiction and have helped the needy with your daoc money (being sarcastic btw, don't want to start flames)

 

[subski]

really hard to pick up the phone or go knock on a door, if you're supposed to be a friend (the iggy issue).

not gonna bother read the rest of it when he tries to open it with a drastic story like that, when he's just showing how bad a friend he is.

 

[Talwin-Hawkins]

a bottle of whiskey dropped to £0.20, would we not see an obvious rise in pissheads?

ok i may have misunderstood this part but are you saying if things where cheaper more people would take drugs and drink more?

If so i dont think this is the case i have quoted the whiskey part for ease, this can be said for drugs too...

just because you can get something cheaper doesnt mean more ppl will turn in to pissheads, it will just mean the ppl who are already addicted will be able to feed there habit more.
I wont suddenly start drinking and turn in to a pisshead because it only cost's £0.20 a bottle, or start taking drugs because i can get a rock for £0.05 (or whatever you said).

If GOA where to lower the sub's cost i wouldnt start to play more as it would be un-realistic, the price of something doesnt determine how addicted you can get to something, its not a case of thats cheap i'll take that untill i die.

like i said i may have misunderstood what you meant by what you said these are just my views on what i think you said

 

[lacroix]

My 2 cts:

well, I posted on a similar thread a few weeks back but can't be bothered to look it up again, so just a few more words - totally my own opinion, so feel free to disagree - on the gaming addiction issue:

Addiction is part of human nature, but affects different ppl differently (a lot to do with personality structure, brain chemical balance and surely socio-economic factors). So, I would argue a lot of ppl are - temporarily or permanently - addicted to something or someone at some stage in their life ... - the main difference is: which are seen as "addictions" (i.e. socially defined as harmful) and which are just seen as "leisure activities"/hobbies etc.
And these things are generally defined by moral and social standards ... - in past centuries, it was, if I remember correctly, socially acceptable to pop some opium tablets or even wean your babies on opium to keep them from crying (if anyone's interested in the relativity of social mores, read Lawrence Stone: Family, Sex & Marriage in England 1500 - 1800, (1979)) - this trend was mainly stopped due to the demands of industrialisation - oh, and drinking tea was actually considered harmful ...

Of course, with a lot of addiction there is suffering attached, but a lot of the suffering does not stem from the addiction itself but from the moral, social and political stigmas attached to it (there's a branch of public choice economics dealing with the economics of drugs etc, supporting at least some of the legalisation debate in Britain over the past few years).

My point: gaming might be more addictive to some pps than to others, but the way we perceive it is not an absolute truth but subject to social and moral views.
No reason not to express different views on such morals, but don't get "fundamentalistic" about it

My personal opinion is that these views are undergoing a change with this generation or the next, the outcome will be open, but I wouldn't be surprised, if the model of a virtual community just changes and enhances on how we perceive social interaction, which is still predominantly defined as "face-2-face" interaction ....
If the addiction is to ppl (like in my case ), then I do not see why a local social network can't be enhanced by a international (virtual) one

/lecture off

 

[Stekkerdoos]

I have played daoc pretty long now, took my time to level my chars, 2 highest are 50 and 40 now and some +/- 24 chars on different server, i also played and ignored many social aspects of RL which actually needed attention. But i never considered myself addicted, in my eyes addicted is when you play because your feel the need for it, even if you dont like the game. You just can't quit.
I have no more fun with daoc now, RvR never was my thing ( still Counterstrike in a fantasy coat, zerg or no zerg), the PvE part was fun untill i was 50 and maybe my other 40 char, i even tried Camlann, now the "magic" is gone.
Beta as great a big world unexplored, being amazed at he other chars, what they can do, like the wizard with the stone golem (cabalist) stuff like that, retail was just a race to nr 1, not an adventure in a fantasy world.
A few days ago i stopped playing, and i dont miss it at all, logged on for a few minutes and logged of again, no fun.
And i think thats where the fanatic player differ from the addicts, the addicts keep playing for some reason when it is no more fun, well thats what i think

 

[old.Trulla]

Originally posted by old.neenee
read it quite awhile ago, same situation as me that dude was in, never going out, no social contact with anyone (this is since daoc , so like a year) but thankfuly daoc got abit boring and i got out of the drovel of staying in all the time how sad

and Pbaekeen Manachanter - lvl 1x Manachanter
Lurikeen Wayfarer

have u tried leveling on blue mobs?